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the MAMA of ella

email me!if you'd like to ask me a question or pass along an idea, please email rowena@ella-echo.com. i'm always thrilled to hear from readers, and i read every single message--but not always right away. a few days may pass before you hear back from me. it's not personal, i promise. :)

July 24, 2004

1--a baby suffering from seasonal allergies who feels terrible, can't sleep, and just wants to be held.
2--my sudafed/tylenol/ibuprofen cocktail is not affecting my own allergies at all.
3--the aforementioned cocktail is, unfortunately, blunting my muse.
4--i don't have any sponsors so there is no money on the line.
5--my other blog is getting jealous.

1--toys that encourage violence.
2--toys that promote TV shows or movies.
3--toys that promote the interests or hobbies of the giver, even though the child has not expressed an interest in those hobbies.
4--toys that hypnotize the child into passivity.
5--toys that come in excessive packaging.

1--i feel an intense need to repeatedly apologize to my mother for every day of my life up to the age of 30, and for those first 4 days after ella was born.
2--i cannot hear about a house fire, a car wreck, or any natural disaster without worrying if any children were involved.
3--every soldier, every homeless person, every rude driver, every telemarketer that interrupts my dinner....to me, they are all somebody's children now and i wonder if their mothers worry about them.
4--i never fully sleep anymore, instead i just hover at the edge of wakefulness.
5--i will never again be able to say no to any child who comes to my door selling cookies/candy/magazine subscriptions/car parts/state secrets.

1--battery operated toys that turn on by manipulating some part but that don't have an off button.
2--battery operated toys that don't have a volume button.
3--toys that require a special area to play in.
4--toys that have decals you have to apply.
5--riding toys that are all pretty and decorative on the side that faces the parents but the side that faces the baby has nothing to look at except the screws that hold the thing together.

1--under $5: baby bath tub--she only took one bath in it, and she cried so much she threw up--since then she has just been taking baths with me.
2--under $10: a brand new, adorable pink romper with an apron skirt that fit her for one whole day.
3--under $25: jogging stroller at consignment sale--i don't jog, what made me think i would start jogging if i had a special stroller???
4--under $50: mechanical baby swings--tried three different models--the lights and sounds just annoyed her.
5--under $100: bassinet that i won on ebay--i loved it, i was so excited to get it, i made a custom cover with hand-dyed fabrics--she hated it, wouldn't sleep in it, it is now a terrific, custom magazine holder.

1--fall down, go boom: the persistent nature of gravity
2--don't you go messin' with my fling-fling: newton's laws of physics and their application in the baby food delivery system
3--can you hear me now?: the infant vocal apparatus and the amplification of sound
4--i can't take it anymore: the effectiveness of 'the wheels on the bus' in modern psychological warfare
5--the willing suspension of disbelief: reflections on the majesty and drama of 'peek-a-boo'

1--my wedding day (1994)
2--the day she was born (2003)
3--the last performance i did with howard merlin (1982)
4--watching the ringling brothers/barnum & bailey circus elephants get a bath in the street outside our apartment building in downtown nashville (1992-1996)
5--playing in the tricky fountain with my sister sabrina, summer palace outside leningrad (1987)

HIATUS

I'M NOT HERE!

i am on indefinite hiatus from all my blogs. i will not be adding any original content for the foreseeable future. please feel free to surf around the blog--there are years worth of material here, much of which has been buried in the mists of time--but do not expect responses to emails or comments because i'm not here. :) thank you for your understanding.